The Throne Legacy: An Incasta Novel (co-written)

The Throne Legacy ~ Chapter 7

I am pleased to announce the return of Myria Gray to writing with me again, from the third narrative of this chapter and onwards. :)

Chapter 7

The Black Cat Inn was probably one of the most uninviting places Nikita had ever seen. There was no music, or laughter, and the people who went in and out had shifty looks about them. She could see now why Airen had meant about the place. There was something about the whole street that was quite unsettling. Most of the buildings were three storeys high, built of a combination of wood and stone, all with shuttered windows that had probably once been white but were now flaking and stained.

“Are you sure this is the right place,” Airen said doubtfully, eyeing the street with suspicion.

“Yes, this is the place,” Nikita turned to him with a reassuring smile. “This is as far as you go, I must go alone from here.”

“I cannot allow-”

“Airen,” Nikita said sternly. “Return to your duties. I will be fine from here. Thank you for helping me find the right place - it would have taken me all night by myself.”

The knight still looked uncertain but eventually he nodded and bowed. “As you wish, your highness. Good fortune to you.”

Nikita watched him walk the way they had come before turning and beginning down the street Shards had told her she would find the Soothsayer on. All the houses seemed the same to her but it was a long street and she continued down it. When she did eventually find the Soothsayer’s house she could see why Shards had needed to give so little description.

The two buildings on either side were obviously abandoned: one had the front door half hanging off its hinges and both had boarded up windows. The Soothsayer’s house itself was four storeys high yet much narrower than those around it, making it stand out from the rest of the buildings. It looked quite unstable to Nikita and she looked up at it with apprehension. It was made entirely of wood and the front was not even, each floor sticking out a little in front of or behind the one beneath it.

There was a rusty door knocker on the door and Nikita reached up and knocked gingerly. When there was no answer she knocked again, a little firmer this time. After a moment a hatch opened in the door that Nikita had not noticed before and she could see a mouth on the other side.

“Who comes at this time?” the voice was scratchy and hoarse.

“I seek the Soothsayer,” Nikita said, keeping her voice as steady as she could manage.

“Come back at a more suitable hour.” The hatch slammed shut and Nikita frowned. She reached up and knocked again and the hatch opened once more. “Are you deaf? Do you even know what time it is?”

“I am very sorry to call at this time - this is the only opportunity I could find. Please, it is very important,” Nikita said, biting her lip.

There was silence from the other side of the door for a moment. “What is your name?”

Nikita considered lying but then changed her mind - if the stories she had heard about the Soothsayer were true then he would know. “Princess Nikita of the Royal Court of Incasta.”

The mouth on the other side of the hatch grinned. “Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

The hatch shut and after a moment the door was opened and Nikita stepped inside. The door was closed behind her immediately. The Soothsayer shuffled past her with an oil lamp in his hand which was all that lit the narrow hallway. She followed him silently into the next room which seemed to serve as a reception room with a cold fire and an armchair. The room was small, but comfortable looking. The Soothsayer indicated for her to sit in the armchair and he pulled up a wooden seat for himself after lighting another two lamps.